BackTrack Linux 5 R2 Released

After months of development, bug fixes, and upgrades, the full release of BackTrack Linux 5 R2 is available for download now. According to the website, this version of BackTrack Linux runs a custom-built 3.2.6 kernel with the best wireless support available and is the fastest release of the Ubuntu-based penetration testing distribution to date. BackTrack Linux 5 updates dozens of packages and includes many new tools.

A special BackTrack edition of Maltego 3.1.0 is also available, which includes the recently released CaseFile tool for organizing and collating data from numerous sources. According to the BackTrack website, these tools will change the way you interact with data and perform reconnaissance.

Also included in BackTrack 5 R2 are Metasploit 4.2.0 Community Edition, version 3.0 of the Social Engineer Toolkit, BeEF 0.4.3.2, and other tool upgrades. Additionally, the website lists 40 new tools that have been added.

The developers state that Ubuntu updates will be included in the repositories on a more regular basis. That means, when you run a distribution upgrade, you will receive updated tools and packages pulled from Ubuntu, making for a more secure and stable distribution. New HOWTOs also have been provided in the wiki, focusing on the cluster configuration and use of VMware player and tools. For more information, visit: http://www.backtrack-linux.org/.

This issue’s DVD comes with the BackTrack 5 R1 [1][2][3] pen test distribution. BackTrack provides a great collection of pen testing and security auditing tools. You can boot into BackTrack Live from the DVD or install BackTrack permanently on your hard disk.